Empty Night
by LadyWallace
Summary: Pre-S15 AU Jack wakes up in the Empty. Lucifer finds him and gives him two options—help him and Michael get out or suffer eternally. Jack needs his family now more than ever, but will they find him in time and, even more importantly, can they forgive past sins?


**This one is for WhiteWolfPrincess95 who requested some Jack rescue. I feel like this is kind of a shortened version of all the things we brainstormed but I hope you like it XD**

**Also, no actual spoilers for Season 15 in here as long as you have watched the end of S14. It's more of a start of S15 AU.**

Empty Night

A Supernatural Fanfic

It was dark, and probably would have been cold if there were any feelings like that in a place like the Empty. Jack pushed himself up from where he had been laying on the ground, and looked around.

It was nothing. Just darkness as far as he could see.

He didn't understand at first, couldn't quite remember.

And then he did.

He was dead.

He clutched his chest, feeling no heart beat there. He was only breathing because he was used to doing so.

What was he going to do? What _could_ he do? After all, didn't he belong here? He didn't have a place with the men he had formerly called family. Not after what had happened. After everything he had done.

He deserved to be stuck down here with nothing.

"Well, well, if it isn't the little nephillim."

Jack startled and looked up to see Michael, appearing in the body he had in the apocalypse world, standing in front of him.

"You," he said. "What are you doing here?"

"You killed me," Michael said blandly. "That's what happens to angels. We end up here."

Jack stood there warily. "Then what do you want?"

Michael raised an eyebrow. "What do I want? Revenge. I want to get out there again. Now with Chuck making a mess of things, I thought it might be a perfect opportunity to figure out a new plan of action."

Jack held his chin up. "I won't let you."

Michael chuckled. "What are you going to do, boy? You have no soul. You don't even care about what I do. Not really."

Jack looked away. Was that true? He didn't want Michael to get out there again, but was that because he knew it would be wrong, or because he genuinely felt like he didn't want that to happen?

Michael smirked. "I can see your conundrum. Let me help with that." He cast a hand out and clenched it into a fist. Jack felt pain surge through him and collapsed to his knees.

"You know how this goes, I'm sure," Michael said as he gave Jack a brief breather. "I torture you until you do what I want."

Jack panted on his hands and knees, feeling the pain, but mostly just feeling numb. He hadn't felt much of anything since he'd burned his soul away, and this was no different. He was broken. He wasn't human.

It didn't matter what happened to him. He was already dead.

He shook his head. "I'll never let you out of here. You're never getting back."

Michael pressed his lips into a thin line. "We'll see if you change your tune after a few days of torment. We have all the time in the world here."

He lashed out and the pain started again. Jack curled up, just lying there, unable to help himself, and, frankly, not really wanting to. After all, he deserved as much.

Then the pain stopped all of a sudden and Jack heard a grunt from Michael. He looked up, seeing that the archangel had been flung far away, skidding across the emptiness.

Jack scrambled up, looking around for his possible savior…

And saw someone he had hoped never to see again. He froze like a rabbit.

"Hey, son." Lucifer smiled, raising his hand in a cheery little wave.

"No," Jack said.

"What, no thanks for saving you?" Lucifer asked. "You are always so ungrateful."

"I'm dead! Why should any of this matter?" Jack demanded. "Get away from me!"

He started to stagger off into the blackness, but Lucifer appeared right in front of him.

"Now, you see, I can't let you do that," Lucifer said, a dangerous hint in his voice. "Because, I saved you, and now you owe me."

"I owe you nothing," Jack snapped and began to stride off, only to have Lucifer appear in front of him yet again.

"Come on, kiddo, for old time's sake," Lucifer wheedled.

"There were no old times," Jack said. "I sent you back here again for a reason. I never want to see you out there hurting people again."

"Yeah, yeah you did send me back," Lucifer said, his voice thoughtful. "That didn't make me very happy, son."

"You'll never get out of here again," Jack repeated firmly.

"Well, looks like you won't be getting out of here either," Lucifer said with a shrug.

"Castiel did."

"Yeah, and Cas has a track record of getting out of tight spots, which endlessly pisses me off. Also, he had your help. And you just happen to be in here." He smirked and it was not very nice.

"What do you want from me?" Jack demanded, clenching his fists at his sides.

"What do I want?" Lucifer asked, raising his eyebrows. "Well, I want to get out of here, for starters. Heard there's some stuff going on topside. Stuff with dear old Dad. Would kind of like to get in on it, teach him a lesson for the last time." He took a step closer. "Maybe you can get me out of here from the inside. You know, like you did with your adopted daddy."

Jack shook his head. "No. I told you I won't let you out again. I'll stay in here forever if it means you do too."

"Oh yeah?" Lucifer asked, danger seeping into his voice. "You ever ask Sam about his time in the Cage?"

Jack shook his head. "No, why?"

"Because I'm patient and I know how to cause people pain. And I don't care that you're my son, I've already disowned you since you want to have nothing to do with me. And I've got an old friend to help me."

Movement caught Jack's eye and he turned to see Michael, standing off to one side.

"What makes you think I'm going to help you?" the other archangel sneered.

"Because we want the same thing," Lucifer told him. "Come on, I know we didn't really get along before, but times have changed. We have the same goal now, we've worked together before."

"Yes, and you lied to me about your motives," Michael growled.

Lucifer held his hands up. "Hello? Do I look like I have another option here? You also let Dean Winchester kill me so I think we're even. All I want to do is get out of here. Promise."

Jack started to step away as the two of them argued, but Lucifer lashed out and halted him with a surge of power. Jack tried to fight against it, but was unable to.

"Na-ah, you're not going anywhere, Jack," Lucifer said, all hint of teasing gone. "You're going to stay right here and you're going to help us or we're going to convince you otherwise."

Jack shook his head. "I'll never help you."

"It's not really up to you, kid," Michael said and turned to Lucifer with a reluctant nod. "Fine. I'll help you out, but if you cross me again, I'll send you right back here."

"Would expect nothing less," Lucifer said.

"What do you even plan to do?" Jack demanded. "You won't even have vessels."

"Oh, but I still have a back door open into Dean," Michael said with a smirk.

"But what about Nick? I killed him," Jack tried.

"Yeah, but…I get the feeling that once Sam and Cas see what I've done to their precious baby boy and what else I'll threaten to do if they don't comply, someone will be willing to sacrifice themselves for the sake of being my vessel." Lucifer shrugged. "You know how it goes."

"And if they decide you're not worth it, well, we'll just find another way to get them to say yes."

Jack shuddered, feeling completely helpless. He looked to either side but there was no way out. He couldn't fight this.

All he could do was brace as Michael and Lucifer rushed him.

* * *

_Castiel felt sick to his stomach_. He sat in the back of the Impala, arms wrapped around himself as they drove away, anywhere but here. He couldn't look over to the other seat. He had refused to let them put Jack's body in the trunk, and yet that meant he had to be placed in the back. Castiel had put his trench coat over him, but it didn't help.

He'd failed.

He'd failed Jack. He'd failed Kelly. He'd failed himself.

And all of them had failed the world.

He wished he had never called Chuck in the first place. Not that he was certain it would have made any difference in the long run but still. In a way, this had been his fault.

Dean saw it that way, anyway.

As if it wasn't enough that the elder Winchester was blaming Castiel for the death of Mary, now he had just one more sin to add to the long list.

They got back to the bunker—at least there they would be relatively safe for whatever came next, and Castiel carried Jack into his room to rest on his bed. He pulled his coat off the body, and after a couple seconds looking at his burned-out eyes, he had to tug a blanket over top of Jack.

He sank down into the desk chair, head in his hands.

What was he going to do now?

* * *

_Jack endured the torture_. It wasn't like he didn't deserve it. It wasn't like he couldn't stand it. It was easier without a soul, even.

Which, unfortunately, Lucifer seemed to realize soon enough.

"We're not getting anywhere like this," he sighed, holding up a hand to stop Michael from continuing. "You know, Jack, you were a lot more fun when you had a soul."

Jack just lay there, unable to reply. As much as being human hurt, he couldn't deny that everything had gone wrong when he had lost his soul.

"Maybe we'd get more out of him if he had it back."

Before Jack knew what was happening, Lucifer snapped his fingers and a bright light exploded in the near vicinity, shocking against the empty blackness.

And suddenly Jack _felt. _It wasn't just the psychical sensation of his aching body, it was _everything._ All the emotions he should have been feeling came crashing in all at once, and he gasped. He reached up to clutch at his chest, feeling an ache settle there.

Lucifer stepped forward and kicked him onto his back.

"There we go, that's the Jack I know and love—or, could have loved if he didn't scorn his real father." Lucifer kicked him again. "How does it feel, huh? How does it feel to have your soul back? You feel bad now, hm? About everything you did. About killing Mary?"

Jack curled into himself, choking on a sob, too overwhelmed to react in any other way.

Lucifer turned to Michael. "I think we should give him time to stew here. Let him think things over."

The other archangel nodded and all of a sudden, Jack was alone, lying on the ground in the middle of the Empty and everything _hurt._ He remembered feeling nothing, he remembered what he should have felt. It was painful, and confusing and between that and the darkness—so like that Mal'ek box that the Winchesters had locked him in because they feared him…he couldn't stand it.

He sobbed, tears spilling down his cheeks as he curled into himself, feeling so alone.

"Castiel," he murmured, then louder. "Castiel!"

If Cas had heard him while he was in the Empty, maybe Jack could get a message to go the other way.

"Castiel, please," he sniffed. "I'm sorry. Please I just…I just want to go home."

There was no answer and Jack curled tighter into himself and shuddered with the sobs and the feelings that had been bottled up inside for so long.

* * *

_There was a knock_ at the door and Castiel didn't even look up when Sam came into the room. The hunter purposefully didn't look at the bed.

"Hey," he said quietly. "Um, Dean and I, we're gonna go out and see how bad it is out there. You don't have to come…"

Castiel finally looked up. "What more could I possibly do to make this worse?" he asked blandly.

Sam's face scrunched. "Don't say that, man. This isn't on you. This isn't on any of us. This is all Chuck's doing, and…" he trailed off, biting his lip. "We just need to know how bad it is. Figure out what we might be able to do."

"Does Dean even want me to go with you?" Castiel asked.

Sam exhaled. "Dean can deal with his own issues. We have bigger problems."

Castiel ran a hand through his hair. He didn't want to leave, and yet, he had a duty. Sam was right, they had bigger problems, and he couldn't afford to sit this one out.

"Alright," he said and stood.

_Castiel!_

His name crashed through angel radio and he staggered at the sudden intrusion.

"Cas!" Sam cried, reaching out to grab his elbow. "What's wrong?"

"It's…"

_Castiel, please. I'm sorry…I just want to come home…_

Castiel whipped his head around toward the bed. "Jack," he breathed.

"What?" Sam demanded.

"It's Jack, he's…he's speaking to me."

Sam looked worried and Castiel glowered indignantly. "I'm not being metaphorical. He's using angel radio. But the signal is not coming from Heaven, it's…" Nausea clutched at his stomach as the realization hit him. "It's coming from the Empty."

Sam's eyes widened. "But…"

"He had no soul," Castiel said bitterly. "His non-human side would have won out."

Sam's face crumped. "What's he saying?"

Castiel had to look away. "He says… he wants to come home."

The angelic frequency crashed through his head again, almost staticky due to the distance. _Lucifer…Michael, they have me. They want …use me to get out. Please help!_

"Sam, he says Lucifer and Michael have him. We can't leave him in there. Eventually they'll find a way to use him to get out even if he's unwilling."

"Cas, we…" Sam huffed. "We can't really do this now. You understand…"

"You want to add Lucifer and Michael into the mix?" Castiel demanded.

"What the hell is going on in here?" Dean demanded, stepping into the room.

"Dean, Jack is in the Empty with Michael and Lucifer, we need to get him out," Castiel appealed.

"And?" Dean asked.

"And we need to get him out!" Castiel repeated. "Before _they_ use _him_ to get out!"

"We have got way too much on our plate to do that now," Dean said. "And what proof do you even have?"

"What do you mean, what proof? Jack contacted me, he's terrified, Dean!" Castiel said, fists clenching in anger.

"Yeah, and what if Lucifer and Michael have already gotten to him? This is probably a trap. They get you to go down there, open a way, and bam, they're home free." He started to turn toward the door. "Now are you coming to help, or what?"

Castiel saw red. He reached out, grabbed Dean's shoulder and slammed him against the wall, fists clenching in the front of his coat.

"You don't even care what happens to him!" he shouted. "You think he deserved this! You heard what Chuck said, and yet you still blame him, blame _me _for Mary's death! Do you have any idea how much that hurt me as well, Dean? Losing a friend? And then, a son, _again?_ Not to mention _everything_ I believed in for millennia is apparently now a lie." Dean stared at him blankly, not offering anything. "I know you're mad, I know you're hurting, but we _all_ are, Dean. We can't afford to fall apart over this now."

Dean finally moved, shoving him away. "So, what? We go there and then what? Fight Lucifer and Michael and get Jack back? What good is that going to do?" He glanced over at Sam who had been silent through the whole exchange. "You got an opinion on this?"

"Dean," Sam began, pressing his lips into a thin line. "It's Lucifer. He can do…he can do whatever he wants, and if he puts his mind to it, he may be able to manipulate Jack into letting him out if Jack can do it."

"Jack has no soul," Dean said firmly.

"He's a child!" Castiel cut in sharply. "What's more, he's _our_ child! That used to mean something to you."

"Yeah, yeah it did, and look where that got us!" Dean shouted back.

"Jack was confused! He had no moral compass, but if you had just called me I could have helped him—_We _could have helped him. Instead you lied to him and told him he couldn't trust you."

Sam at least ducked his head, shame spreading over his features.

"When I was soulless, you tried to help me," Sam said.

"Yeah, and you weren't an uber-powerful freak!" Dean said.

"I tried to murder Bobby!" Sam pointed out.

"You weren't thinking straight."

"Neither was Jack!" Sam insisted and Castiel looked at him gratefully. Sam sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Look, Dean, if Jack is in trouble, if he's with Lucifer and there's even a chance that we can save him, then I think we should take it."

"I'm not walking into a trap right now," Dean said, folding his arms over his chest.

"You don't have to come," Castiel growled.

Dean rolled his eyes. "But I'm not going to let you two walk in there alone either. We don't need Lucifer hitching a ride back with one of you."

"So you're in?" Sam asked.

"Does it look like I have a damn choice?" Dean asked, glancing toward the body on the bed. His shoulders slumped. "Look, I hate what happened to the kid, I do. You're wrong if you think it didn't hurt me, that I didn't have to make some tough decisions. But if he's going to go back to being a loose cannon, we need to talk about what to do about that because we can't risk having another catastrophic being running around."

Castiel sighed, but realized this was as good as it was going to get. "And we will. But we don't have time now. We need to find a way to get into the Empty."

* * *

_They called Rowena_. Luckily, she had something that would work.

"It'll be like astral projection," she explained. "That way you don't really have to open a door, you see? And you should be able to bring Jack—whatever's left of him—out with you."

Castiel nodded, sharing a glance with Sam. Dean stood off to one side, arms folded over his chest, silent.

"Now, I just need something that's been there," Rowena said, glancing up at the angel.

Castiel shifted slightly, then rolled his shoulders almost self-consciously. His wings materialized as shadows and he reached up and plucked one of the smaller feathers. It solidified in his palm and he dispersed his wings and handed it to her.

"Thank you, dear," Rowena said and dropped it into the bowl. She nodded to the three. "You'll have five hours, I can't leave you longer than that. I'll call you back. You'll feel it when I do, so if you have Jack, hold onto him. If you want to come back earlier, just say these words." She handed a piece of paper to Sam and he read them and tucked it into his pocket. "Best sit down."

They all took seats at the library table and watched as Rowena did the spell, tossing a handful of power into it. She chanted the incantation and lit a match. The bowl burst into flames and Castiel felt an insistent tugging from the center of his chest as if something was pulling his true form from his body, before everything went dark.

* * *

_Lucifer and Michael took_ shifts torturing Jack. He mostly just laid there and took it. In a way, it was better than being left alone in the darkness with all his emotions crashing down on him.

But Lucifer liked to use Mary's death against him too, which only made him feel worse. He couldn't believe he had done that. He couldn't believe he had felt _nothing._ He hadn't understood before, not really, but now he couldn't blame Sam and Dean for locking him up. He would have locked himself up. So really, he deserved this.

He didn't know how long it went on. Days, maybe. Down here anyway. It might have been minutes on earth. He didn't know what the time difference was. Didn't know why he even cared.

Lucifer was kneeling over him, leaning close to Jack after he had beaten him into the ground. "How about it, Jack? Hm? You ready to give up now?"

Jack just lay there, tears streaming from his eyes. He couldn't let them out. He didn't even know if he knew how. But that didn't matter. He never would help them, and it was probably a good thing that he didn't care if they tortured him or not.

Lucifer sighed and dropped him limply to the ground, standing up.

"Fine, we'll give you a little time to get out all your feelings. When I get back, I'm gonna show you how it feels to have your wings plucked."

Jack curled up, closing his eyes so he couldn't see the darkness. It didn't really help, it seemed to permeate everything down here.

"He's there! Over there!"

"Jack!"

The voices trickled in as if from far away. Jack squeezed his eyes shut tighter. This must be some new torment. His family couldn't really be here.

"Jack!"

Someone dropped down beside him and he flinched, expecting pain. But instead a gentle hand fell on his shoulder and he felt the familiar thrum of Castiel's grace.

"Jack, open your eyes, it's us."

He opened his eyes, and looked up, shocked to see Castiel, and Sam and Dean.

"B-but, how?" he asked.

"I heard your call," Cas said. "I came."

Jack's tears broke out again and he sobbed, sitting up to throw his arms around Cas' neck. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to do any of it! I don't know why…I'm so sorry."

Cas held him tightly. "We know, Jack. We…" he pulled back, a frown on his face as he pressed a hand against Jack's chest. "You…how do you have a soul?"

Jack sobbed. "Lucifer…He gave me one again so it would hurt more."

A small sound came from Sam and Jack looked up at the Winchesters. "I'm sorry," he whispered brokenly.

Dean didn't say anything but Sam stepped forward. "It's in the past, Jack. We just want to bring you home now."

"Which will be easier now that he has a soul," Cas said, shaking his head. "Amazingly, Lucifer seems to finally have done us a favor."

"Aw, what a touching reunion."

They all looked up and Jack held onto Cas tighter as Lucifer and Michael appeared.

"So good of you to join us," Michael said. "We were just talking about you."

Cas stood, taking Jack with him and pushing the nephillim behind him. "Jack doesn't belong here. We're taking him away."

"I'm not so sure about that," Lucifer said. "See, we want to get out of here, heard it would be the perfect opportunity to take on Dad, now that's he's apparently so weak. Heard we have you to thank for that, Sammy."

Sam shrugged, rubbing his wounded shoulder. "You get a lot of news down here," He said blandly.

Lucifer chuckled. "Anyway, like I was saying, to get topside, we need vessels and a way out. And now we have both. And leverage." He grinned. "With Jack re-souled and with all his dewy feelings back, how long do you think it will take us torturing his daddies before he gives us what we want? He might think he deserves the torment, but will he think you do?"

"Yeah, I don't think so, dickbag," Dean growled. "Sam."

Sam snatched the paper out of his coat and started to read the incantation.

"No!" Michael shouted, lunging forward.

Cas clutched Jack tightly, bracing himself for Michael's attack, when Dean stepped forward and slammed a fist into the archangel's face. Michael sat back in shock.

"Stop them!" Lucifer screamed, trying to rush Sam.

But the incantation was finished and Jack felt himself and the others pulled away, Lucifer and Michael screaming in the background.

* * *

_Castiel slammed back into_ his body with a jarring thud. He jerked upright and looked over to see Sam and Dean also coming around, gasping with their unused lungs.

"Well, you actually made it back," Rowena said in a cheery voice. "I must say, I'm impressed."

Castiel was already up from the table, staggering toward the dormitory wing. He pushed through Jack's room and got there just in time for the boy to sit up, gasping and choking for breath.

"Jack," Castiel called and ran forward, steadying him. "You're okay. You're all right. You're home," he murmured, gripping Jack's shoulders.

"Cas?" Jack croaked. He blinked, looking around, and seeming to relax a little bit when he saw the familiar surroundings of his room in the bunker.

Sam and Dean pounded into the room next and Rowena was right behind them.

"Jack," Sam said with relief, hurrying forward and wrapping a surprised nephillim in a hug.

"Well, looks like we got a happily ever after despite the world ending," Rowena said, but was only slightly mocking.

Castiel looked up and saw Dean hanging at the outskirts of the room. He met Castiel's eyes and his shoulders slumped as he took a deep breath.

"Jack," he said and stepped forward.

Both Sam and Cas tensed, and Jack looked like he wanted to run and hide.

"Dean," Jack whispered, arms hugging himself as he seemed to shrink to half his size. "Dean, I'm sorry. Really. I know that's not enough, but…I understand what I did now. I'll never forgive myself."

Dean closed his eyes briefly and ran a hand over his face. "Okay, look. I know you were messed up, and that doesn't really make what you did okay. But…" Castiel watched him sternly. "But, what I did wasn't okay either. I shouldn't have lied to you. I should have tried to help you and let Sam and Cas do the same."

Jack looked up tentatively. "I…I can stay here then?" he asked softly.

Dean huffed a sigh. "Yeah, kid. Yeah, you can stay. But only if you promise to keep your powers in check. Now that you have a soul again…maybe that won't be so difficult."

Jack rubbed his eyes and couldn't help a small smile. "Thank you."

"Come here, kid." Dean muttered and pulled him into a brief hug. Jack was startled, but hugged back after a second.

Dean pulled away, clearing his throat. "Come on, let's give the kid some space." He left the room, leaving Rowena to step forward and touch Jack's cheek, checking him over.

Castiel followed Dean out of the room. "Thank you," he said sincerely.

"What was I gonna do?" Dean demanded, self-consciously. "I can't turn him out on the street. We're just gonna have to make sure he stays on the straight and narrow." He shrugged. "Besides, like you said, he's our kid. And yeah, that does mean something to me, okay?"

Castiel nodded. "We will help him. All of us. With it being the end of the world again, we're all we have. We can't afford to push each other away."

"You're right," Dean admitted. "So, I'm sorry, Cas. I know it doesn't help, but I am."

Castiel fought the urge to roll his eyes, knowing this was as good of an apology as he would ever get from Dean, but also that it was heartfelt. "I am too. I'm sorry any of this had to happen."

Dean nodded, swallowed hard. "Maybe if we do better by the kid this time, it won't happen again."

Castiel nodded. "Yes."

"Well, that's over, and we have another apocalypse to stop. But right now, I'm gonna make the kid some food. He's probably hungry." Dean reached out and clapped Castiel on the shoulder before he headed off to the kitchen.

Castiel watched him go then turned back into the room to sit with Jack. Yes, it might be the end of the world, again, but at least they had each other.


End file.
